Talk:Interlock (engineering)

Supercomplicated content
'Guys, the purpose of Wikipedia is to educate. I just wanted to know the definition of interlock. I had to check the German Wikipedia because this article is unnecessarily complicated. All I wanted to know is: it is a safety feature on mechanical designs that prevents accidental operation. Think about a ball valve that has a lock on it so that the toxic liquid will not be released accidentally.

Or is this in another article? In that case why was I directed to this article?'185.46.212.173 (talk) 13:46, 13 September 2019 (UTC)

Move Request
''It was requested that this article be renamed but the procedure outlined at WP:RM did not appear to be followed, and consensus could not be determined. Please request a move again with proper procedure if there is still a desire for the page to be moved. Thank you for your time!'' --  tariq abjotu  01:13, 13 September 2006 (UTC)


 * A deadman switch is just one type of interlock. The intelock article as it stands now is poorly written.  I am working on automation and have worked with interlocks in my engineering career, so I can perhaps do a better job of explaining and give some detailed examples.  Then someone could move the deadman switch to interlock.Phmoreno (talk) 02:15, 12 September 2013 (UTC)

New comment: — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.119.184.10 (talk) 15:52, 31 January 2014 (UTC) The content of the present article should be moved or rewritten because it does not accurately describe the concept of interlock. At present it describes a protection function only. An interlock is a feature that makes the state of two elements mutually dependent. A transition is only permitted provided both elements have met their required conditions, otherwise neither can move. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.119.184.10 (talk) 15:50, 31 January 2014 (UTC)
 * Dead man's switch now has enough detail a merger seems unwarranted. -- Beland (talk) 18:05, 21 December 2014 (UTC)

Microwave oven
Is the switch to the door of a microwave oven really not a safety interlock switch (aka "safety-door switch")? This is the way I interpret industrial standard product portfolios from ABB, Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation, Omron etc on this topic, and it also matches the following definitions (items numbered "2"):

Webster's Concise Family Dictionary 1975: interlock (vb): 1. to engage or interlace together; lock together; unite 2. to connect in such a way that action of one part affects action of another part Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, Interlock (noun): 1. The quality, state, sense, or an instance of being interlocked 2. An arrangement in which the operation of one part or mechanism automatically brings about or prevents the operation of another 

In fact I can't really find anyone claiming there's a special meaning of the word "interlock" for engineering besides wikipedia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.181.101.51 (talk) 12:10, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

Microwave oven again
IEC disagrees with the statement that the microwave oven switch is not a safety interlock. ″safety interlock: means to automatically change an energy source to a lower class energy source prior to the potential for transfer of the higher energy to a body part″ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.178.8.195 (talk) 18:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)


 * I agree that the traditional definition of an "interlock" is a mechanism that pre-emptively prevents an unsafe state from being entered, as distinguished from a "safety switch" or an "alarm", which may perform an emergency shutdown of a system that has become unsafe. The term "interlock" implies a maximal level of safety, which is why marketing people have tried to hijack the term for other less-stringent uses.  If the term is appropriated for other uses, engineers will have to come up with new word for the function.  Reify-tech (talk) 19:25, 24 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Laser interlocks very commonly work exactly the same as microwave door locks -- releasing the enclosure or room door opens a mechanical switch that breaks the circuit powering the hazard. There's no debate over the term there (including in regulations).  ChrisHodgesUK (talk) 16:38, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Interlock vs Safety Device
The July 13th 2020 edit removes a valid point i.e. "an interlock should not be confused with a simple safety switch." The first sentence of this article says, "An interlock is a feature that makes the state of two mechanisms or functions mutually dependent". That description does not fit a simple safety switch, a switch is not dependent on the system it is interfaced with. Consider this statement made in the "Mechanical" section, "Interlocks may be strictly mechanical, as in one form of internal firearm safety, that blocks motion of the trigger, sear and/or firing pin unless the breech is properly closed & locked.". A firearm has safety catch which is often a simple lever or button which blocks the operation of the trigger or some other component, I submit that the safety catch is not an interlock. However, in the above quote from the "Mechanical" section the subject is the "internal firearm safety" which I believe is a true example of an interlock. The mutually dependent mechanisms are the trigger and the bolt, both of which have functions other than safety. In fact, a characteristic of an interlock may be that it acts in parallel with some other function, if there is no other function then what we have is a safety device (or similar), not an interlock. I do believe the microwave door switch is an interlock, the switch acts in parallel with the closing of the door which isolates the interior of the oven from outside world. If all the switch did was to turn on an interior lamp (which is part of the same system as the switch) it would not be an interlock. Gagoryd (talk) 08:34, 15 December 2021 (UTC)

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